Refuge
by Republic of Yolossia
Summary: Elise was preparing for a normal day when she finds someone hiding in her barn, someone with tales of death and destruction, and someone who desperately needs her help. LuxLiech one-show


_Elise- Liechtenstein_

_Luca- Luxembourg_

…

_Just a little LuxLiech one-shot set in the second world war, so warning for mentions of war and death._

…

_October, 1940_

…

Elise pulled open the door to her barn with great effort, listening to the creaks as the thing finally started to move. She stood back slightly and rubbed her chubby arms, trying to calm the goose-bumps slowly emerging. The early morning air was chilly, and when she glanced behind her, dew covered the fields surrounding her family cottage. She could see it in the distance, kitchen light bright against the dim, grey sky. Her brother would be preparing breakfast now, something warm and delicious to keep them going for the day. She couldn't wait.

Elise tucked a lock of hair that had escaped her plaits behind her ear. Her blonde hair tumbled down her back, even when tied up, and her green eyes were bright and curious. She barely acknowledged the mud covering her dungarees and boots- both hand-me-downs from her older brother- and walked inside the barn.

She wasn't above admitting she was a little nervous. It wasn't being alone- she didn't mind that- it was being alone in the middle of nowhere this early in the morning. Times were dangerous. There was a war going on and, although it hadn't affected her country yet, it very well could.

Still, her brother assured her that no one could hurt her here. And no one would. They were out of the way and of no use to spies or anyone else who might invade.

So Elise decided to carry on as normal.

She strode further into the barn and made her way to the farming equipment stacked in the corner. On the way, she stopped to pet the goats in a pen, talking to them softly and calling them by the nicknames she'd given each one. Her brother told her she shouldn't, but she'd named them anyway.

Apart from the scuffing of hooves and the occasional bleat, the barn was silent. She fed the goats and walked over to her pitch fork. There were still some vegetables she had yet to dig up and that was what she planned to spend the day doing. Vash would normally help her with that, but today he was going to market after breakfast to sell some milk and cheese.

She glanced around the barn once more, and swore she saw something move. Elise took a step backwards so she was up against the wall, and looked up at the second floor, accessed only by a ladder and little more than a large shelf. It was where they kept the hay and she was certain something up there had rustled. And when she looked again, she thought she saw a pair of eyes staring down at her briefly before disappearing.

Elise suppressed a yelp. She clutched her pitch fork and took a tentative step forward. An intruder? Who could possibly want to lurk in their barn? What did spies want with their goats and vegetables?

She moved slowly, cautiously to the ladder. She had to protect the goats; without them their income would suffer. Elise wanted to protect her brother too.

She told herself to think rationally; it was probably just an animal, maybe a stray dog. She still had to chase it away, in case it tried to eat her goats or mess up the crops they were storing in the barn for winter.

"Come out," she called, in case it _was_ a person, "and don't try anything. I'm armed." She got no reply, though she swore she heard a whimper. It was probably her imagination though.

Elise placed a trembling hand on the ladder, tucking the pitch fork under her armpit and climbing. It creaked too much for her liking, and for the first time since she was really small, she was scared of climbing it. But she continued.

She peered over the top of the floorboards, but was simply met with stacks of hay. Nevertheless, she pulled herself up and gripped her pitch fork once more.

"I know you're here," she tried again, hating how high-pitched her voice sounded. How was anyone supposed to be scared of someone who looked and sounded like a little girl? Well, her brother had thought her a thing or two, so she'd soon show them.

When nothing moved, she sighed and prodded the nearest stack with her pitch fork before moving further along the upper floor. More prodding, with no results, and she was just about to give up, when something moved behind the last bale.

Elise frowned, raising her weapon and walking towards it.

"Don't make me use this," she called.

Just as she was about to strike, someone crawled out of the hay with a cry.

"Don't hurt me!" they called, and Elise nearly dropped her pitch fork as she yelped and jumped back.

"Who are you?" she cried, "what are you doing here?"

She peered at the stranger who had chosen her barn to hide in, and found they were a young man, slightly older than herself. His shirt and trousers looked like they had been expensive at some point, but were now little more than rags, dirty and torn. His shoes were falling apart and the boy was so thin that the only reason his trousers hadn't fallen around his ankles was the braces he was using to hold them up. The boy's hair- once shining and soft- was matted and unruly, covering half his face. He looked freezing, and his one visible eye was dull and half-wild.

"Please," he began in a raspy voice, "I mean you no harm." He seemed terrified of her, eying the pitch fork in her hands with fright. Elise, despite herself, felt sorry for him; he looked too weak to run, and was completely at her mercy.

"Who are you?" she repeated.

"My name is Luca," he replied, "Luca Morgens."

She nodded, unsure of how to reply.

"Please don't turn me in," he begged.

"Turn you to whom?"

He looked away.

"Why are you in my barn?" she tried when she got no answer; "were you trying to steal my goats?"

"No, I just needed shelter, honestly." Luca looked back at her, teal eye large and bordered by a dark ring. He looked exhausted. "Apologies for using your barn. It's a very nice barn though."

"Don't you have your own place to sleep in?" she asked, finally setting the pitch fork down and sitting in front of him.

"Well, no," he admitted, "I'm a long way from home and I can't go back. At least, not until the war is over."

"And where is your home?" Elise couldn't place his accent, "France? Austria?"

Luca shook his head. "Luxembourg."

"I see."

"May I ask what your name is?"

"Elise Biedermann."

"What a lovely name," he gave a brief smile.

"Thank you. But what are you doing all the way in Switzerland?"

"I had to run away." And Luca was back to avoiding eye contact.

"Why?"

He didn't reply, and Elise sighed.

"You can tell me," she pressed, "I'm not gonna tell anyone."

Luca didn't reply for a long moment. "I've told people before, people who told me they would help me. But they just told the Gestapo and I'd have to run away again."

Elise nearly cried out, "the Gestapo? But what would they want with you?"

"I can't tell you."

"You can," Elise assured him, "we have no Gestapo here. I don't have anyone to tell, apart from my brother."

"You have a brother? Here?"

"Yes, he's home. I can call for him easily if you try and hurt me." Her voice was flat as she said that; she still wasn't sure if he was entirely trustworthy yet.

"I have no intention of doing such a thing," Luca told her, "I just want some peace and safety."

"Those things are hard to come by nowadays," she commented.

"I've noticed."

"Look, you might as well just tell me. What have you got to lose?"

"My life. And my freedom."

"Some freedom."

Luca flinched; "it's better than the alternative."

"And what is the alternative?"

"Conscription." He spoke in a whisper, as if scared to say it too loud for fear of the consequences. Maybe he though streams of soldiers would burst in and drag him away?

"You didn't want to fight?"

Luca shook his head. "Not for _them_. For Germany. Elise, they took over my country and made it theirs, then said we should fight for them because we are secretly German. But we're Luxembourgish. I don't want to fight for them. I don't want to fight at all."

"So you ran?"

"The resistance smuggled me and my brother into France and I thought we were safe there. We had to leave our sister behind and I can only hope she's still alive."

"Where's your brother now?"

Luca's lips trembled and his eye watered. "Dead. When France was invaded, we ran again, sleeping in ditches along the roadside or wherever else we could find shelter. We were caught though, some soldiers found us and my brother gave his life so they wouldn't get me."

"How awful!" Elise covered her mouth with her hands. The idea of Vash dying- for her and in front of her- was too horrible a fate to comprehend.

Luca nodded. "I kept running. I couldn't let my brother's sacrifice have been for nothing. I travelled through France into Switzerland." He laughed bitterly. "And now I'm trapped. I can only hope they don't invade here too, because I'm surrounded. Where else I there to run to?"

Elise flinched. "Do you think they'll invade here too?"

Luca paused, staring at her for a while. "No, of course not."

"You're just saying that," Elise glared at him, "don't treat me like a child."

"I'm not," Luca mumbled, "I just didn't want to upset you."

Elise looked away.

"So can I stay here? In your barn?" he asked hopefully, "just until I've had a chance to rest. Then I'll leave you in peace."

"But where will you go?"

Luca shrugged. "Here and there. A city maybe. I could try and find a way to get to England, and join their air force. I wouldn't mind fighting for them if it'll help my country."

"What if you had a place to stay?" Elise asked slowly, "somewhere safe and welcoming?"

"I'd still have to leave eventually," he told her. "I want to fight to free Luxembourg. I can't just hide in ditches my whole life. And I need to find out what happened to my sister."

"Please stay here, I mean in my house. With me and Vash. We'd look after you and feed you."

"That's very kind of you, Miss." Luca looked away, "but I wouldn't want to trouble you or your brother."

"You wouldn't! Come on, a bath and hot food has to be tempting." Luca's stomach growled, and the boy blushed as he hugged himself. Elise knew she was winning. "You could help out on the farm if you feel you have to give something back."

"But I know little of agriculture," Luca admitted, "I'm just a city boy."

"You can learn," Elise gave a warm smile, "I want you to stay, Luca Morgens."

"It would not be forever though. I have to fight." Luca's eyes blazed at that. "I don't like fighting, but I won't stop until my country is free!"

"I understand," Elise sighed, "but you need to get back on your feet first. So please stay."

"Elise?" Her brother's voice resounded across the barn as he entered, looking around for her. "Your breakfast is getting cold!"

"Coming!" Elise stood up and held out her hand. "Come on, please."

Luca nodded and took it, allowing her to help him stand.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Anything for a brave boy like you. Um, Vash," she added, louder, "I have a surprise for you!"

…

**I don't even ship this, I swear! Okay, maybe a little… oh fuck it, it's going in the armada! **

**I don't know, this idea wouldn't leave me after researching Luxembourg in the second world war for another fic, and I just had to write it. At least now I can work on all the other goddamned fics I'm supposed to be working on.**

**But first, historical notes:**

**Luxembourg was invaded by Germany in WW2, as I'm sure you all know. It was actually incorporated into Germany itself and Luxembourgish men were conscripted into the German army, though thousands deserted. It was the tiny Luxembourgish resistance that smuggled them out of the country.**

**Also, the British RAF was made up of a large number of mainland European refugees from countries taken over by Hitler, as well as many people from Commonwealth countries. Hence why Luca planned to join.**


End file.
